Something Very Important
by NinthFeather
Summary: "It's just…I remembered something…" she said slowly, trying to keep her nervousness out of her voice. "Something I forgot to do before you left last time." Post-manga SakuSyao.


_A/N: This fic is dedicated to anyone who has ever complained, "They never kiss!" in reference to the TRC or CCS versions of Sakura and Syaoran. It's set post-series, so it's pretty much a giant spoiler. Ah, well. Enjoy!_

Something Very Important

Sakura awoke in her bedroom in Clow Country, the dream of Syaoran's return she'd had the previous night still appearing before her sight every time she closed her eyes. She leapt from her bed and dressed as quickly as she could, then ran down the stairs toward the palace's doors.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Touya called to her from down the hall.

She shook her head. "Syaoran's back!" she shouted back.

"Brat," Touya grumbled as Yukito laughed.

Sakura was about to run out the door when a thought struck her, a thought so terrible that she stopped in her tracks. What if, while he traveled, Syaoran had met…someone else? What if he'd met someone who could travel with him without making him miserable, someone who didn't have the responsibility of a High Priestess of Clow. What if he didn't even want to see her anymore? A lot could change in two years, and her dreams told her that Syaoran's absence had lasted longer for him than it had for her, by at least a year. What if he didn't love her anymore?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see her mother's gently smiling face. "Go to him," Nadeshiko said. "It's true that time can change many things. But some things will always remain the same."

Sakura felt like a huge burden had been lifted off of her heart. She was a little old to believe everything her mother said, and yet, she believed this. Her mother was a wise woman, and she and Sakura's father had gone through their own share of difficulties before they were able to be together.

"I'm going now!" she called as she ran out of the palace.

Five minutes later, out of breath and halfway to collapsing, she arrived at Syaoran's house in the town outside of the castle. She took a second to catch her breath before knocking, but, to her surprise, the door swung open before she could.

"Sakura?" Syaoran's voice asked her. She'd never really noticed how beautiful it was, like the sound the lowest-toned string on her _koto_ made when she plucked it.

She looked up, and her eyes met his. That shade of brown…she couldn't do it justice. The closest comparison she could make was to the 'chocolate' that her other self remembered from her travels. And his hair…it was spun bronze, with the occasional thin strand of pure gold running through it. He'd gotten tanner in his travels, and it suited him—his skin almost glowed. However, that only made the white bandage on his left cheek more noticeable than ever.

She lifted a hand to touch it, her fingers brushing lightly over the cloth, and the skin of his cheek.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

He raised his hand and placed it over hers. "It's nothing," he said. "There was a small fight on the last world we visited, that's all."

"It's not nothing!" she insisted. "I've told you over and over that you shouldn't hide your wounds!"

Syaoran closed his eyes for a few seconds, remembering. "Thank you," he said at length, his warm brown eyes meeting hers. "But I don't want you to worry."

"I will, anyway," she said to him, not flinching from his gaze.

They stood like that for a while, her hand still on his cheek, with his covering it. A wind blew across the street, lifting her bangs and ruffling Syaoran's hair. Sakura wanted so badly to say something, something that would convey how much she'd missed him, and how much she loved him, and how, no matter what happened, she would still love him just as much as she did now. But what could she say? She'd confessed her love to him already, and she'd even told him her true name. What more could be said?

An idea came to her, and she felt her face heat up.

"Is something wrong?" Syaoran asked.

"It's just…I remembered something…" she said slowly, trying to keep her nervousness out of her voice. "Something I forgot to do before you left last time."

Syaoran watched her patiently, his expression earnest. "What did you forget? Was it important?"

"Very," Sakura said, allowing a flirting lilt to enter her voice.

Syaoran immediately turned scarlet. "What are you talking about?" he asked nervously.

Sakura's left hand was already on Syaoran's cheek, and she moved her right toward his face as well. Closing her eyes, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him.

Immediately, she felt his body tense up against hers, but it relaxed within seconds. He kept his left hand over hers, on his cheek, and wrapped his right arm around her back. After a few moments, she moved her right hand from his cheek to wrap it around his shoulders.

Sakura had no idea how long they remained like that. For her, time had stopped, not in an unnatural way, as it once had, but in the most natural way of all. The two of them were not trapped together in an empty dimension, but they might have been, for all that they noticed the world around them. She felt tears well in her eyes. She knew that, before long, they would be separated again. Why? Why couldn't they stay together?

But maybe this was enough. It wasn't what she dreamed of, or anything close to normal. But at least they would be able to see one another again. And if their love had to be a series of short meetings rather than a long life together, well, they would make it work. Because, above everything else, the thought that she might never feel like this again was so horrible that she couldn't think about it.

They separated, both of their faces aflame with the knowledge of what they'd just done.

"Welcome home," Sakura said softly.

"It's good to be home," Syaoran responded.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

From behind a nearby building, Fai and Kurogane watched their traveling companion and his princess.

"Wheet-whoo, that was some kiss," Fai said appraisingly.

"We shouldn't be watching this," Kurogane said gruffly. "And stop saying the sound; I know that you can whistle now."

"But it's more fun to say it!" Fai protested. "And, besides, Kuro-buro, you're just as concerned about the lovebirds as I am."

"Hn," Kurogane grunted.

"It seems that our young friend and his princess are determined to make this work, no matter what odds stand in their way," Fai said wistfully. "I hope that they can."

"If anyone can, it's the brat and the princess," Kurogane said brusquely. Anyone but Fai would have missed the warmth in his eyes.

"Aww, Kuro-daddy's kids are all grown up," Fai teased.

"Shut it, mage!" Kurogane growled.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sakura ran back into the palace.

"What did you and Syaoran do this afternoon?" Yukito asked pleasantly.

Sakura turned crimson and practically flew up the stairs.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Touya growled, eyes alight with rage.

"They only kissed," Nadeshiko laughed.

Fujitaka gave her a sideways glance.

"I saw it in a dream," she said.

Touya grumbled something about "still wanting to kill the brat" and stormed off toward his room.

"Will they be happy?" Fujitaka asked his wife.

Nadeshiko gave him the brilliant smile that her daughter had inherited. "That will be up to them," she said.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Alone in her room, Sakura touched her lips gently. Her first kiss! She was a bit embarrassed that she had kissed him, rather than the other way around, but she didn't regret it. Syaoran would be leaving in a few days, so they didn't have time to be shy.

She smiled to herself. This morning's kiss had been her first, but it would not be her last.


End file.
